Aircraft and other large objects must occasionally be weighed. The weighing procedure typically utilizes a plurality of load cells upon which the entire weight of an object collectively rests. The load cells couple to transducers which provide electrical signals. These electrical signals may be measured, and the electrical measurements may be converted into a weight. The sum of weights resulting from outputs measured at each of the plurality of load cells equals the total weight of the object. In addition, the individual weights are useful in calculating center of gravity parameters.
Conventional systems particularly designed to weigh large objects, such as aircraft, are known to those skilled in the art. Such conventional systems suitably perform this task so long as system accuracy need not be high, so long as skilled personnel conduct the measurements, and so long as down-time of the weighing system does not lead to excessive inconvenience. However, in the aircraft related industries and other industries, safety and cost cutting efforts dictate the performance of highly accurate weight measurements upon demand and without delay. Moreover, lesser skilled personnel than may have been available for such measurements in the past must now successfully perform such measurements.
Conventional weighing systems fail to provide adequate solutions for these needs. Conventional electric circuits which measure transducer outputs have typically been so influenced by noise, the environment, or other factors that they fail to achieve acceptable accuracies. Moreover, prior art weighing systems require complicated initializing procedures before an accurate measurement results. Only highly skilled personnel can reliably perform such procedures without error. In addition, post-measurement calculations or conversion procedures provide another source of potential errors. Furthermore, the failure of a single component in a conventional system often causes the entire system to require factory repair and recalibration. Consequently, users of such a conventional system face the expensive prospect of purchasing an entire substitute system for use only as a backup or the inconvenient prospect of tolerating extensive down-times. In either situation the transportation costs associated with sending an entire system to a factory for repair and recalibration are excessive.
Thus, a need exists for an improved weighing system which produces highly accurate measurements, which can be successfully operated by lesser skilled personnel, and which minimizes the expense of maintaining the system in an operable condition.